In many industries in which a flow of fluid is utilized, it is desirable to maximize flow, or minimize flow resistance, in order to reduce the amount of equipment runtime necessary to push through a given volume of fluid. By reducing the amount of runtime, the amount of wear and tear on the equipment can be reduced, and the cost of running the equipment can be significantly lowered. In industries such as the pool industry, for example, an increase in the throughput of water passed through a filter pump and recirculated through the pool can reduce the necessary runtime of the pump, thereby reducing the cost of gas or electricity necessary to run the pump. A major obstacle to flow in the pool industry is the use of standard piping components, such as 90° elbows, 45° fittings, unions, tees, and crosses, made from materials such as PVC and assembled with materials such as PVC cement, Teflon® tape, or silicone cement. While these basic elements are cheap and readily available at most hardware stores, they can result in sharp turns and other partial barriers that can lead to a significant reduction in flow, compared to a more linear or smooth run, as known in the art for flow of a fluid.
A swimming pool can be retrofitted to provide for improved flow. Existing retrofits come with several disadvantages, however. One disadvantage is that the person doing the retrofit generally is limited to standard plumbing components in standard sizes and shapes. As such, only limited improvement can be obtained by redirecting the flow, such as flow from a suction pipe to the main circulation pump. Further, it takes a substantial amount of time to retrofit a plumbing installation. It typically is necessary for a salesman to go to the site and take measurements, then go offsite to determine the necessary piping and associated costs, then return to the client at a later time for approval, a signature, and a deposit. Subsequently, an installer will be sent in to dismantle the existing piping and equipment and install new components. The installer must build the new piping using standard parts, oftentimes using parts not carried on the installer's truck, such that the installer has to make at least one trip to the hardware store during installation. The installation also will require a significant amount of cutting and gluing, such that a standard installation can easily take over eight hours of time. The amount of time not only increases the cost of each retrofit, but lowers the number of pools that can be retrofitted in a given period of time by a single technician.